Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair for the duration of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Mulherin be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

RESOLVED – That Appendix 3 to the report entitled ’Appointment of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning)’ referred to in Minute No. 7 be designated as exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(1) and (2) and on the grounds that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information by reason of the need to maintain the competitive nature of the interview process and to retain information submitted by individual applicants in confidence, as disclosure could undermine the process, future appointment processes, or the outcome on this occasion to the detriment of the Council’s and public interest.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

No declarations were made.

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting.

No apologies for absence from the meeting had been received.

To receive a report of the City Solicitor which provides Members with an overview of the governance arrangements and format for this specific Employment Committee which will have responsibility for the recruitment to the position of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning).

The City Solicitor submitted a report which provided Members with an overview of the governance arrangements and format for this specific Employment Committee which had responsibility for recruitment to the post of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning).

RESOLVED – That the following be noted:-

(a)  The governance arrangements and format relating to the Employment Committee; and

(b)  The Council’s requirements regarding the consideration and disclosure of confidential and ‘exempt’ information.

To receive a report of the Chief Officer HR which outlines the process for the recruitment to the position of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning).

(Please note that Appendix 3 to this report is designated as exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (1) and (2))

The Chief Officer (HR) submitted a report which presented a proposal to appoint to the currently vacant Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning) post and which set out a proposed recruitment schedule for the position. 

The Deputy Chief Officer (HR) together with a representative of Gatenby Sanderson were in attendance at the meeting in an advisory capacity.

Prior to discussing details of candidates being presented to the Committee, Members noted and provided a response to a specific concern raised by Councillor Lamb regarding the proposal to appoint to this position on a permanent basis given the currently changing nature of the education environment. The Committee also noted and responded to a comment raised by Councillor Cleasby in respect of commencing recruitment to this position prior to appointing an Acting Director of Children’s Services. 

Having considered the submitted report and appendices, the Committee undertook the formal recruitment process (long listing) for the position of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning). 

RESOLVED – That 5 candidates be put forward to participate in an assessment centre, with the results from that assessment being submitted to the Committee, in order to enable Members to evaluate such results as part of an exercise to shortlist any appropriate candidates for the purposes of formal interview.

At this point, the meeting was adjourned and would be reconvened once the assessment centre had been held. 

The meeting was reconvened on Tuesday, 11^th Ocober 2016 (12.30pm).

Councillors Mulherin (Chair), Dowson, J Lewis, Rafique and Cleasby were in attendance. Councillor Lamb had submitted his apologies for absence from the meeting and had confirmed that he was happy for the meeting to go ahead in his absence.

The Committee met to consider the outcomes from the candidate stakeholder assessment which had taken place on Monday, 10^th October 2016 and to undertake an exercise to shortlist any appropriate candidates for the purposes of formal interview.

The acting Director of Children’s Services, the Deputy Chief Officer (HR) and the Head of HR (Strategy & Resources) were in attendance at the meeting in an advisory capacity.

The Committee was advised that one candidate had withdrawn from the process, and one had not been able to attend the stakeholder assessment due to illness.

Having considered the submitted information regarding the outcomes from the assessment centre, the Committee continued the formal recruitment process (short listing) for the position of Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Learning).

RESOLVED –

(a)  That 2 of the 3 candidates be short listed for formal interview;

(b)  That in respect of the one candidate who was unable to participate in the assessment centre on the 10^th October 2016, arrangements be made for that individual undertake the same or an equivalent assessment process, with the results from that assessment being submitted to Committee Members, in order to enable them to determine whether that candidate be short listed for formal interview also;

(c)  That officers be requested to try and reschedule the Employment Committee to undertake formal interviews, which is currently scheduled  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.